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Food, family and memories are as intertwined in the South as if woven on the same thread. At any function we attend, from a party to a wedding to a funeral, we are as likely to talk as much about the food that was there, as we are about why we are gathered. ~Mary Foreman

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Tuesday, November 1, 2011

A gumbo of beef, made with a 7-steak, and cooked down with The Trinity trio, okra, and a little bit of chopped tasso for some heat.

Seven Steak Gumbo

As far as I can discern, 7 steak gumbo had to have been born out of frugality. Unlike its more pricey seafood cousin, it is a gumbo of beef and okra, but of a fairly inexpensive cut of beef, similar to round steak. Seven steak requires slow braising or stewing in order to bring out it's delicious, tender flavor, making it a suitable candidate for a gumbo. It's called 7 steak because of the bone in it that is shaped like the number 7, when you can find it where the butcher hasn't removed it already, that is. I fix it most often as a Cajun smothered steak, but it can be used pretty much anywhere that you would use a braising steak.

Chef Frank Brigtsen talks of this unusual gumbo in his oral history on the Gumbo Trail. He says that in the early days of Chef Paul Prudhomme's restaurant, K-Paul's Louisiana Kitchen in the French Quarter of New Orleans, a Creole chef there, by the name of Stanley Jackson, made a Seven Steak Gumbo. Brigsten said that Chef Paul and Chef Stanley worked on the recipe together and that it later appeared in Prudhomme's first cookbook. Outside of that, most people probably have never heard of it, and, well, y'all know how I feel about bringing back heirloom and heritage recipes. It will always be a primary goal at this website.

Turns out, it's quite a delicious gumbo and while I guess if you're totally opposed to okra, you could potentially omit it. I happen to love it and most especially in a gumbo. To be honest, after stewing for two hours with the beef, the base of this gumbo can stand all on its own too. It is that good. If you happen to have leftover gumbo but no leftover steak, go right ahead and eat that over a bed of rice. So good.

Here's how to make Seven Steak Gumbo. Start by cutting the steaks into servings sized pieces.

There's that 7-bone! See it? Don't throw it away! Either stick it in the freezer for stock at another time, or like me, I'm just gonna throw it in the gumbo with the meat.

Season the meat with salt and pepper on both sides.

Heat 1/2 cup of oil in a Dutch oven over medium high heat - don't freak out! Part of that oil is gonna become a small roux. Meanwhile, combine 1/2 cup of flour with 1/4 teaspoon of Cajun seasoning and garlic powder and 1/2 teaspoon of paprika. Set aside 2 tablespoons of the seasoned flour.

Lightly dredge the pieces of steak in the flour, reserve the leftover flour. Brown the meat in the hot oil in batches so you don't crowd them in the pot.

Might as well do the bone too!

Remove meat and set aside while you cook the vegetables.

While the meat is browning, and if you haven't already, go ahead and chop up and measure out the vegetables. You'll need 2 cups of sliced okra. Frozen is fine for gumbo, just make sure that it's plain, unbreaded okra.

Chop 1 cup of onion, 1/2 cup of green bell pepper and 1/4 cup of chopped celery and set aside.

Add the okra to the pan drippings. Cook and stir until browned, about 7-8 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Meanwhile, chop up 1/4 pound of tasso or smoked sausage and set aside. I used tasso this time, which is a highly seasoned cured pork that has been rubbed with a variety of spices and seasonings prior to smoking - including plenty of cayenne pepper. It is firm in texture like ham, but adds a huge kick of rich and spicy flavor to dishes.

Begin stirring in 4 cups of beef stock a little at a time until it's fully incorporated.

Add one undrained, 14.5 ounce can of stewed tomatoes and a tablespoon of chopped pickled jalapenos.If you aren't a fan of large bits of tomato, you can certainly chop them up a bit smaller. Just use your kitchen shears to chop them up, right in the can.

Slide in the browned seven steaks, bring everything back up to a boil, reduce to a low simmer, cover and simmer for 1-1/2 to 2 hours or until beef is tender. Don't allow the meat to boil, adjusting the heat down if needed.

Serve a portion of cooked rice, topped with a serving of steak, and spoon the gumbo on top.

Don't let the list of ingredients scare you away. It's all pretty much basic pantry seasonings and it's all simply layers of flavor. Go for it.

Heat oil in a Dutch oven over medium high heat. Cut the seven steak into pieces and season both sides with salt and pepper. Meanwhile in a pie plate combine the flour, Cajun seasoning, garlic powder and paprika; set aside 2 tablespoons of the seasoned flour. Lightly dredge the meat in the remaining flour, and brown the steak pieces in the hot oil in batches. Remove meat as it browns and set aside.

Add the okra to the pan drippings; cook and stir over medium heat until browned, about 7-8 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the tasso, onion, bell pepper, celery, thyme, basil and bay leaves. Cook and stir about 2 minutes. Add the butter, the reserved seasoned flour and the garlic. Cook and stir about 3 minutes longer and begin stirring in the beef stock a little at a time. Add tomatoes and jalapeno, slip in the browned seven steaks, bring to a boil, reduce to simmer, cover and simmer for 1-1/2 to 2 hours or until beef is tender. Don't allow meat to boil, adjusting the heat down if needed.

Serve a portion of rice, topped with a serving of steak, and spoon gumbo on top.

~Cook's Notes~

The tasso adds a wonderful spicy bite to this gumbo, so don't be tempted to overdo it with hot sauce or Cajun seasoning if you use it. You can also substitute some smoked sausage for a milder version.

Braising steaks are best for this dish. Braising is not recommended for top round (which is often just marked as "round,"), so if you use round steak, be sure to use an eye or bottom round steak for this dish. Other good braising steaks include chuck eye, chuck arm, mock tender, chuck tender steak and flat iron. Substitute fresh herbs for the dried if you prefer.

Crockpot: Prepare as above, transferring steaks to a slow cooker. Proceed with recipe adding everything to the slow cooker. Cover and cook on low for about 6 to 8 hours, or high for 4 to 5 hours, or longer as needed, until meat is tender. Use a wide spatula to remove steaks from slow cooker and serve over rice.

Material Disclosure: Unless otherwise noted, you should assume that post links to the providers of goods and services mentioned, establish an affiliate relationship and/or other material connection and that I may be compensated when you purchase from a provider. You are never under any obligation to purchase anything when using my recipes and you should always perform due diligence before buying goods or services from anyone via the Internet or offline.

Yeah, butchers tend to cut the bone away, so sometimes it's just called 7 steak (minus the bone) ever here, but we still have it available bone-in down here - for now at least! These cheap steaks are very popular here in this part of the south - at least with us older folks LOL! Course with this recipe you can use other braising steaks too.

Mary, As a single father of two and a cook in training I have just completed this dish. I have sipped the juice and am patiently waiting for the outcome. Man does the house smell good. Thank you for the insight of a southern dad on how to cook southern for my kids. Many thanks and I am already printing the tomatoes and corn side dish for another night. Thanks again!

Thank You!!! I've spent the last couple of hours searching sites for "just like Mom's" sweet potatoe casserole with Marshmallows. I had your site saved from Pinterest for some other recipe. Thank goodness I found your site. I'm a born and raised Texas girl, Southern to my core.

Oh Mrs. Mary!!!I was hungry for something different and came upon this recipe. I got out the old cast iron dutch oven, used chuck tenders, spicy sausage for the tasso (none around this part of the country), upped the seasoned flour, left out the okra (personal preference) but followed the recipe after these changes. I cooked this on the stovetop, letting it simmer for about 2 hours. I let it cool down then refrigerated it for the night. Next evening, I heated up only what hubby and I could eat, made some rice, heated garlic bread and we made a huge dent in this iron pot of deliciousness! This will be on our "keeper" list! Thanks so much for sharing!

Oh Ms. Mary!! Made your 7-Steak Gumbo the other night! I used chuck tenders, spicy sausage (can't get tasso in this neck of the woods!) and left out the okra (personal preference). Otherwise, followed this recipe to a "T". I made it in my cast iron dutch oven, simmered on low for about 2 hours, then cooled it down and refrigerated overnight. I made some white rice, garlic bread and heated this hot, yummy, pot of delicousness for our supper last night. My Dahling is as big a carnivore as your Mr. Cajun, so this was right up his alley! Beautiful flavor, wonderful textures, just enough heat to get, "This is a keeper" from Dahling, with quite a few "Ummmmmm's thrown in, too! Thanks so much for sharing this amazing recipe! Keep 'em coming!

Wow, yum! I make gumbo pretty often, usually chicken, sausage, and/or seafood in some combo. It always reminds me of living in New Orleans.

I'd never heard of steak/beef gumbo before and made this today on a hot, Australian Summer afternoon. I used some lean ground steak we had and a few long rashers of Aussie bacon (kinda like US bacon + Canadian bacon), no okra as it's hard to come by down here, but man was it fantastic! Served it up with sweet tea, and cut some watermelon for dessert. Fantastic meal to cure my current bout of homesickness. Thanks!

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